Team GICRS

Meet Our Team

Georgia's Integrated Cultivar Release System (GICRS) is comprised of four entities; Georgia Seed Development (GSD); the University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc.(UGARF); the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations; and the Georgia Crop Improvement Association (GCIA). All play important roles in this method of plant development and marketing. Our Systems Approach integrates plant breeding research, intellectual property protection, quality control and marketing to customers in Georgia and across the globe. They are responsible for protecting and licensing intellectual property, including UGA-developed plant cultivars to seed companies, nurseries, farmers and other interested parties.

By working together, these four entities advance the knowledge of plant genetics, address anti-piracy issues and ensure the very best varieties are available to satisfy increasing global demand for crop output.

University of Georgia

UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is one of the largest colleges of agriculture in the nation, known for its very high research activity. It houses the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics (IPBGG), which includes 19 plant breeders located on UGA campuses at Athens, Griffin and Tifton. This interdisciplinary group of scientists creates new varieties of turfgrasses, peanuts, soybeans, wheat, pecans, vegetables, blueberries, forage grasses and ornamentals. These scientists also educate and train our next generation of plant breeders, making our organization one of the largest and strongest plant breeding programs in the world.

University of Georgia Research Foundation

The University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc. (UGARF) was established as a 501(c) (3) organization in 1978. Located on the UGA Athens campus, UGARF owns the intellectual property developed by all UGA employees. It is responsible for licensing and protecting intellectual property and for managing UGA-CAES-developed plant materials licensed to seed companies, nurseries and other interested parties.

Georgia Crop Improvement Association

Established in 1946 and located in Athens, the Georgia Crop Improvement Association (GCIA) is an organization of seed and sod producers whose goal is to produce and market, through certification, high quality seeds and propagating materials of superior varieties. GCIA assists farmers in achieving their production goals by encouraging the use of high quality seed of superior varieties. GCIA also provides quality assurance programs that maintain varietal quality and purity for certain UGARF-licensed varieties.

Georgia Seed Development

Georgia Seed Developmentwas created in 1959 by the Georgia General Assembly to produce Foundation seed and plant stock from improved plant varieties developed by scientists at UGA-CAES and provide the seed and sprigs for commercial use. GSD is headquartered in Athens and operates a peanut seed facility in Plains. It also offers its services to plant breeding operations in other states.